Shepherds Farm Organics
“As early as I could walk,” reminisces Stephen Cousins,
“I was playing ‘farm’.”
While Stephen, owner Shepherds Farm Organics, didn’t
grow up on a farm, he was always drawn to them. At the age of 13,
Stephen went to work on an uncle’s farm–located just 80km away from his
current property–and immersed himself into the trade.
Despite this seemingly straight path into the world of
farming, Stephen’s life bore some twists and turns. After graduating
from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Stephen turned his attention
toward ministry and began working with street youth in Toronto. When
his ministry took him and his wife Cindy, back to Prince Edward
Island in 1991, farming became somewhat of a ‘vacation’ for Stephen–but
this vacation took on a life of its own.
He initially started small, working to understand the
land and identify which markets to pursue. While Cindy worked as a
nurse, she also helped out –as she continues to today- with the daily
farm activities . Today, the farm has built a committed customer base
for their mixed vegetable production, with most of the produce
sold to fine dining restaurants in the Charlottetown area.
Beside a small CSA, managed by their daughter Naomi, and a regular
market stand, Shepherds Farm Organics has all of their bases covered!
With 60 acres currently in cultivation, Stephen has
never doubted the benefits of organic agriculture. “People should
know what they’re eating and where it comes from,” says Stephen. Having
studied the science of soil in college, Stephen sought to put his
ideals into practice on his own farm by forgoing the conventional,
chemical-intensive methods of farming. Now into his fifth year of being
certified organic, Stephen is confident that chemical-free agriculture
is here to stay.
Part of Stephen’s vision, and central to Shepherds Farm
Organics, is to involve and educate the youth, tomorrow’s growers and
consumers of organic produce. Following a mantra of teaching by doing,
Stephen has always been keen to pass on knowledge to others. “I do, you
watch. You do, I do, you do, I watch. You do, I do something else,”
explains Stephen, smiling.
Knowing that many of his peers have abandoned farming in
pursuit of more lucrative opportunities, Stephen feels that it’s
imperative to get the youth excited and energized about farming, and to
try new approaches and methods that allow farming to become both
profitable and rewarding. “It’s about working yourself out of a job,”
Stephen says about his mentoring style. “Working with the youth,
sharing knowledge, and helping them become confident, successful
farmers,” says Stephen, “is what it’s all about.”
Practising what he preaches, Stephen has worked to
impart his passion for farming onto his children, and his love of the
land has proven to be infectious. Between hosting day-camps for
children, raising specialty livestock for sale, offering a veggie box
program, and growing and harvesting berries for a local jam making
company, the Cousins’ five children have fully demonstrated that they
too have their father’s agro-entrepreneurial flair. In fully
recognizing their valuable contributions to the family farm, Stephen
has even made the children co-owners in the farm.
While Stephen stresses the importance of scale, crop
diversification and sustainability, he maintains that the most
important thing organic farmers need to remember is the youth. Little
else is more important, Stephen says, “than encouraging young
sustainable farmers.”
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